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the push to do something about guns appears to be picking up steam. next hour, vice president joe biden will meet with victims' groups and gun safety organizations. tomorrow, he'll meet with advocates for sportsmen and gun ownership groups. we're also told the nra will be a part of these meetings. more meetings are expected down the road with representatives from hollywood and game industry. "the washington post" reports the vice president's plan is designed to be big, comprehensive. new jersey's governor chris christie says that's the only way to get it passed. >> if it was comprehensive, if it was comprehensive, there's no doubt in my mind that we could come to an area of compromise. but it's got to be comprehensive. and if it isn't, then you're not -- you're going to have the same kind of good luck in washington you've had all along. >> biden is hashing out a plan on the national level, there's move on the state level, too. this afternoon, new york governor and drew cuomo will propose one of the country's strictest bans on assault weapons for this state.

in connecticut governor dan malloy announced 16 councils looking at gun safety and gun violence prevention. leather bring in jackie kucinich and "washington post" journalist david millbane. >> good morning. >> a spokesman said we got an invitation late friday. they're sending a representative. dana, when you think of that press conference that wayne lapierre had, defiant in the face of the shootings with newtown. this is not about a negotiation, is it? >> no, i think the secret service is going to have to check him very thoroughly when he gets to the gates of the white house. but, no, this really isn't about a policy. they know what the range of policy options are and are evidently pursuing a very broad one. this is about a show. and that's a good thing. you need to have these sorts of events to build -- or to continue enthusiasm for this issue.

if has faded a bit since the massacre late last year. and i think there's the administration's trying to maintain some renewed interests in this. it's still going to be a very difficult sell in this congress. you know, you're talking about the governors of connecticut, new york and new jersey. well, that's a very small part of this country. there's going to be a lot of resistance on capitol hill. >> yeah, so part of the strategy is to meet with victims to get some of the families of victims out there. i talked yesterday with roxanna green. it was her 9-year-old daughter cristina who was killed two years ago yesterday in tucson in the same shooting that injured gabby giffords. here's part of what she told me. >> my husband and i are gun owners and we do believe in a second amendment. we just want sensible gun control. we want to come up with a plan where everyone is required to have a background check. military-style weapons do not have to be owned by the average person. >> jackie, clearly what they're trying to do here and you hear this from members of congress,

too, is have people say, look, i'm a gun owner. i'm not some, you know, crazy, anti-gun, get all the guns off the street person. but, you know, talking about this, and changes the conversation which to some extent newtown seems to have done is not the same as the action, is it? >> no, it's trr true. you heard from giffords herself who wrote an op-ed in a new group that is aimed at coming at the nra on a money level. it's for people who speak out, i think they called it sensible solutions for gun control. so, yes, that is a piece of it. action is very different. and the key is when you talk to gun control advocates, is keeping this momentum up. keeping this fresh in the minds of the public. because "usa today" did a poll a couple weeks ago that showed people are in favor of stricter gun control. it just depends on what that is. there wasn't so much support for the assault weapons ban, for example. but, you know, it's keeping this

in the conversation for them. ands that what i think a lot of them trying to do right now. >> well, it is interesting when you hear chris christie talking about it, the keyword here, dana, is comprehensive. the things he talks about you just can't talk about what do we do about guns? you have to talk about video games. you have to talk about violence in hollywood. you have to talk about mental health issues. he thinks that's easier, but is it? >> well, in a sense he's right about that. it's sort of similar to the immigration issue where you can't just do enforcement. you can't just do legalization. because you knee to bring all sides together in a compromise. you'll have the nra and gun rights folks talking about, only, say, mental health or, of course, arming everybody in the schools. that's a nonstarter. but, yes, if you are to get something done here, it does make a lot of sense is that you would say, an all of the above option that would bring in some of the gun rights folks.

you know, i think it can't be stated force fully enough there's a deeply entrenched opposition to any new restrictions and it's going to be a huge fight. >> and here's what senator ron johnson said this morning. >> we actually do have a constitution and we need to guard our freedoms. these are difficult issues to grapple with. i'm a little concerned they're going to try to rush this throughout of washington, d.c. within a month and i just don't think washington, d.c. is capable of solving this problem. >> is there any sense, jackie, that there's a rush being put on this. >> the advocates i talked to. i talked to senator blumenthal yesterday, it didn't seem like he's trying to rush anyone. there's a lot of conversations going on. senator schumer, senator feinstein, they've done this before. they know how long this takes. i don't think they're trying to rush something through, but again, it's the momentum question. they want to get something soon because right now there seems to

be politically a will to do it. >> rem bring in congressman mike thompson he's leading the house democratic task force formed after the newtown shootings. congressman, good morning you. >> good morning, chris. thanks your interest in this important issue. >> you were one of the eight surprisingly pro-gun democrats. i'm wondering given that, part of this white house strategy seems to be getting gun owners out there talking about a ban on assault weapons answer high-capacity magazines. where do you think we're going with this? y where do you stand? >> well, i am a gun owner and a hunter and i carried an assault weapon for my tour in vietnam. so i have quite a bit of knowledge about these issues and am interested in making sure our communities are safe and were can minimize gun violence. i'm taking a comprehensive approach. i think everything needs to be on the table. a step further, everyone needs to be at the table to have this discussion.

we're talking to mental health experts. hollywood community, the video game community. gun rights advocates. gun control advocates. and we're having pretty good success. queer get something great ideas. >> do you think really think minds are changing and people are moving on this issue, congressman? is that what you're trying to say? i'm very curious, because you're talking to all these different groups. >> i'm very serious. i think that people are interested in minimizing gun violence. as i said, i had a town hall meeting last night. 250 people. and there were some folks who didn't bring anything to the picnic. and they were more about rhetoric than anything else. but there was very serious interest in fixing the problems that we have. that contribute to gun violence. >> well, let me ask you about the two trends of thought here, schools of thought here about whether it should be comprehensive or if that's too much to take on. you should, for example, look at the assault weapons ban? the some people will look at the

argument, mental health is a whole other issue. you shouldn't suggest that it comes from people who have mental health issues. we tend to focus on that when there is a mass shooting like we saw in newtown. already in this 113th congress there have been at least eight bills that have been proposed? do you think that's the wrong way to go am i reading you right, and if so, why? >> well, i don't think there's any shortage of legislation proposed. we'll hear from all types of groups of people on specific ideas how to fix it. but we have to have all the experts at the table and we have to look at everything. we are to strengthen our mental health system. we have to strengthen our background check system to make sure there aren't these huge loopholes that are there that allow criminals or allow the mentally ill to get firearms. and we need to look at the firearms that are out there. we need to look at law enforcement. everyone has some good ideas, we need to put them on the table and put a package together that addresses the overall issue of gun violence. >> how do you address this

issue? because when you listen to the nra and you listen to the gun law, wayne lapierre had this news conference and it had been billed as something new and startling and in fact, it was a pretty strong defense of the right to own pretty much any weapon you wanted. the certain you hear over and over and over again is a slippery slope argument, that if you ban assault weapons, then you're going to take all guns out of all people's homes. hunters are not going to be able to have guns anymore. how do you address that eye were the people so adamantly against any gun control legislation but say let's just enforce the laws that we have? >> well, chris, i think it's very easy. and it was mate easier with the supreme court decision that stated that people do have a right to own firearms. and that is not disputable any longer. but we also have a responsibility and a right to regulate those firearms. and there are some fire arms that shouldn't be on the street. there's already very strict

regulations about some types of firearms. and everything needs to be looked at. and if there are firearms or accessories such as the assault magazines, that shouldn't be out on the streets, in our communities, we have a responsibility to address that. and i think reasonable people, reasonable, responsible gun owners, they understand that as well. >> congressman mike thompson. good luck. thank you so much for coming on and talking to us about this. >> thank you. >> you know, dana in new york state, andrew cuomo wants tougher gun laws including a stricter assault weapons ban. but this is a state that has tough laws in the country. and gun rights advocates are arguing with him. they say it there were 769 homicides in new york state in 2011. only five were committed with rifles of any kind. this sort of gives you an indication, doesn't it, of the arguments, the kinds of arguments, that they're go to come facing as they try to get some of these legislation passed. >> yeah, i think it does, chris. and new york is a place where

it's going to be particularly easy, relative to other places to do this. same thing with connecticut and same thing with new jersey. i think the very revealing thing is, we are hearing a lot from pro-gun democrats like the congressman who are, i think, warming to more gun control. you're just not hearing it from the republican side. and i think the -- you know, the interview with senator johnson shows just what they're up against. the problem is not that they're rushing it through. the problem may be that they're not rushing it through fast enough. because they're going to give the gun rights advocates more time to build up the case against them. >> and you wonder sometimes, when you watch some of the legislation that has gone through, jackie, if it's easier to make progress in the states than it is at the federal level? of course, the problem that creates, and you hear it from governors like dan malloy who says we have very strict gun control laws but it's easy for people to bring them in from

other states that don't have such strict gun control laws. >> well, right. part of it is regional. when you look at ohio, soon after, in the weeks after sandy hook, you had guns laws weakened a little bit in ohio where you're now allowed to bring a gun into the state house garage. so it really say state-by-state thing. again, like you said, because of the borders, it's a hard thing to facilitate. but when you talk about enforcing existing laws, things like that, that's one of the things you hear from maim pro-gun people. we should enforce what's on the books now, rather than make new laws. >> same arguments we hear on the immigration side, of course. jackie, dana, this is not the last we'll be talking about this. thank you both. >> thank you. we have a developing story we're following out of new york city. police now say 30 to 50 people have been injured in a ferry crash at the south street seaport. happened just before 9:00 this morning. a spokesman for the ferry line

says the boat hit a loading barge and it left a gash in its bow. the ferry had about 3200 commuters on board. the injure eye ares are minor. although the latest from the fire department, they've had a lot of people on scene, is that one person was transported to a downtown hospital. although we don't know the condition of that person. we'll bring you more as we get it. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that? geico. just click away with our free mobile app. ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal --

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♪ energized by his re-election and that fiscal cliff deal, president obama is now taking ogg on two of washington's most powerful special interest groups. pro-gun and pro-israel lobbies. dominating chuck hagel point to a president unafraid of going head to head with two powerful lobbying groups that have long

wheeleded strong influence in washington. i'm joined by national journal political correspondent beth rinehart who writes about the president's busting second term. >> thanks for having me. >> the president is relishing his approval numbers and the fact that he didn't have to run again. he actually talked about the second term on "meet the press." i want to play that. >> one of the nice things about never having another election again. i will never campaign again. is you know, i think you can rest assured that all i care about is making sure i leave behind an america that is stronger, more prosperous, more stable and secure than when i first came into office. >> the first thing, rahm emanuel when chief of staff, had this policy, you don't take on a fight that you don't have a

realistic chance of winning. is this a change? >> that is a change. i mean, the president obama we've seen over the last few years on the campaign trail, you know, rarely engaged in the gun control debate. even when, you mow, terrible tragedies happened like at ft. hood, at virginia tech. he responded, but he didn't really wade into the debate, the way he is after newtown. now, certainly, you can say the magnitude of this tragedy warrants a bigger response, and we're seeing that from around the country. but there's also a different political climate here for the president. he, as he said, was just re-elected. his gallup approval it above 50 which is numbers he hasn't seen in a while. or wasn't seeing certainly before his re-election. and may not see for much longer. >> well critics, as you know, say the president is actually now showing his true colors. that he's a big government liberal after he avoided topics like gun control on the campaign trail.

and he reassured israel activists by not realing out military action against iran. i mean, is this sort of about more the political climate changing and the opportunity for him to push for long-held beliefs, or are we seeing as happens with many presidents some of his views on these topics is evolving? >> you know, i think there's a lot of reasons. it's more nuanced than some of his partisan critics are painting it. you know, i don't think anyone is surprised where president obama stands on gun control. he was a community activist on the south side of chicago. but he and other democratic party leaders have seen gun control as a losing issue for democrats. and they've been careful about wading into that debate. now, in the aftermath of this tragedy, the conversation is changing. and polling suggests maybe even public opinion is changing. and so it is an opportunity to take an issue that was on the back burner and put it up to the front. >> you also write that in takes on nra and taking on some of the

pro-israel lobbies, the president is settling scores from the last four years. talk a little bit more about that. >> well, you know, the gun lobby certainly has never been, you know, a fan of president obama's, even though he's actually gimp them some things that they've asked for. you know, he's actually passed or signed legislation that allowed you to carry concealed weapons on trains and into national parks. but that's not good enough for the nra. and they have never been a fan of the president. the pro-israel lobby has also been pretty skeptical of the president ever since he started campaigning in 2007. having said, he won substantial jewish support in both elections. and, you know, his appointment of hagel, i should add is not just about israel. it's much broader than that. i mean, the reasons he's choosing hagel and the responsibilities he will have at

the defense department go beyond that. >> national journal's beth reinhard, really interesting. thanks for coming on the program. >> thanks. well the new numbers won't surprise environmental lobbies and they probably confirm what you may have suspected about last year's weather. 2012 was the warmest year on record in the united states. scientists say the average temperature was 55.3 degrees. a degree higher than the previous record set in 1998. it was also 3 degrees above normal. meantime, chicago is on track to break a 72-year long snowless record. if there's no snowfall by the end of today, this will mark the longest stretch without an inch of snow on the ground since 1940. a grand are total of 319 days. chicago usually has almost 12 inches of snow by this time of year. did you know that as we age our need for protein increases, yet many of us don't meet our daily protein needs?

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so we continue to follow this developing story out of new york city. we now hear that one person is in surgery right now with a critical head injury. after that fairy crash at the south street seaport. authorities say 57 people overall have been hurt. a spokesman for the ferry line says the boat hitting a loading barge just before 9:00 this morning. the ferry had about 443 people on board and we will keep you posted as we get more information. folks on the scene saw something like eight people being loaded into ambulances. so we, again, will keep you updated. to politics now where hillary clinton will testify over the attack on the benghazi consulate. the date is set, tuesday january 22nd. senator lindsey graham said he would not vote to confirm john kerry as secretary of state until after clinton testifies. washington's national cathedral will host same-sex weddings one of the first

episcopal congregations to do. symbolically very powerful. the cathedral also hosts funerals and inaugurations. >> and speaking of inaugurations, the president's second one has an all-star lineup. beyonce will sing the national anthem. james taylor, america the beauty and kelly clarkson will thing my country 'tis of thee. meantime, eva longoria will host an event the day before the inauguration. tickets start at 300 bucks for the event which will be at the kennedy center. and for the ultimate inauguration experience, cnbc found this $47,000 package for sale at the madison hotel. you get a four-night stay. a private tour of d.c. a $5,000 shopping experience, among other things. also a dedicated social media butler who is going to tweet facebook and instagram, chronicle your very expensive

experience. and later this afternoon, the cast of the nbc show "1600 penn" will visit the white househouse. stars jenna elfman will plied the first lady will talk about it. john lovitt used to be a speechwriter for president obama. and if you read only one thing this morning, congress is making money, but not the way they necessarily intended because tickets to the inauguration which are given out for free from congressional offices, are, guess what, ends up on craigslist. how much would you pay? fied out the price tags in my "must read." up on our facebook page. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health.

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lice, donald trump, brussels sprouts than they do of congress. personally, i love brussels sprouts but whatever. new jersey governor chris christie blasted lawmakers for delaying a vote on sandy's relief bill. he said law make ares need to follow the lead of gop governors. >> we're getting things done and we're compromising in places where they need to. you got to compromise and get things done. it's not a dirty word. >> let's bring in chris caththenis and boehner former adviser david windston. >> good morning. >> i'd go out on a limb and say less popular than head lice, david do you think any republicans in congress will take advice from the most popular governor, if not the most popular republican

governor. >> first of all, it takes two to tango here. what you have as a result of this election, you have a president who has clear beliefs that he was trying to get implemented and a congress who just got re-elected and they had have clear ideas on what they want to get implemented. and what you're seeing here how do you resolve an election who gave you two differing types of people who want to try to negotiate and how do you resolve. we'll have a couple examples coming up here the debt ceiling, the sequestration, they'll have opportunity to see how that works. >> as you well know, there are a lot of people out there and i am sure you both heard it anecdotally who during the whole fiscal cliff thing, why can't they get it done? i mean, i can't go to knew job and not get things done. and then we spoke with rick nolan back 32 years after he retired from the house. and here's what he had to say, at least in part, about what's wrong with washington. >> right now, members of

congress are expected to spend, you know, 30 hours a week in call time, dial for dollars. they need to take the toxic influence that money's having on campaigns and elections and we need to go for work five days a like like everybody else in america does. >> and chris, he followed that up by saying when he came to congress in the '70s. they worked 48 out of 52 weeks. now, it's 32 weeks. if you hear constituents, they'd say, i'd like to work 32 weeks. does he have a point? >> yeah, he has a point. listen, i worked up they're not that long ago. you know, i'm not going to sit there and say that folks don't work hard and the staff don't work hard. but my father didn't -- you know, when he went to work, didn't have multiple weeks off every few months to go back to the state. i understand that's an important part of constituent work. you want to have that relationship with your constituents. but when you have as many big problems at country faces right

now you've got to be able to do the job and going away does not help. and money is definitely a negative. and the other part, when you have a republican party that i think is damaged and really divided and they're drawing lines in the sand as they do. we're not going to negotiate on this. we need a partial shutdown on that, that is not conducive to a positive working relationship when you say things are completely off the table. so there's a lot that goes into the cocktail of condition function. it's not going to be fixed with one person or party. >> mitch mcconnell is being targeted by conservatives in a new web ad. shows mcconnell wedged between the president and vice president asking "who's side are you on?" is that really helpful, david. >> you're going to have people for a variety of reasons, the speaker got re-elected with over 95% of his conference. in emergency room its watch he

trying to do with plan "b," he got close to 90% of his conference. the party isn't divided. what you do have a situation, how do you propose the president who i would also suggest to you has been equally rigid in his approach. the fact, for example, in terms of the debt ceiling, he's just simply rule ought certain ways to be able to deal with it. or again in the campaign, you promise 2 $1/2 of cuts for every increase. so what's occurring here, both sides have emerged out of an election. the president i would argue, not surprisingly, has been particularly rigid here as well. and what they both have to do is pig out how do they actually get to the table and negotiate. having that said that one other thing given the last round of negotiations i know the speaker was not particularly happy and going in and negotiating with the president doesn't product results. >> gentlemen, thank you. there's another issue, and that's one we're talking about a

lot today that congress has been slow to act on in the past. but momentum and support are building, it seems, for tougher gun laws in the wake of last month's newtown, connecticut, school tragedy. richard lui has been looking at how the u.s. stacks up against other countries when it up cans to gun ownership and violence. what did you find out? the united states has unsavory bedfellows when it comes to guns, conflict areas and the developing world. looking at number of guns, per 100 people, the u.s. has 89, according to the same survey. in the same league we have yemen, home of al qaeda, and iraq. mexico marred by drug violence is also on this list. and then we have syria, surprisingly, they round out this group at lower gun ownership rates. compared to the developed countries, the u.s. is consistently out of the mainstream it dwarfs every other developed country. for instance, england is way over here. this is the u.s. way on the right. when newtown happened almost a month ago, england's reaction to

20 kindergartners and six adults shot done challenged guns. the telegraph read "america's deadly obsession with guns." sing pour's straight times had titles like "america's senseless gun culture." the reaction was not all focused on the u.s. high gun ownership. some looked at switzerland which ranks third in guns united states the united states. but it has a quarter of the gun-related homicides. why. >> century-old culture of being armed to defend itself against close aggressors and its strong recreational shooting culture works hand in hand with string gun laws. in contrast, it's almost impossible to get a gun in japan. it's gun-related deaths are the lowest. 11 in all of 2008. the same year, the u.s. had 12,000. and in 2006, it had just two for the entire year. with america's history of

gunslingers like john wayne, dirty harry and others, critics in and outside of the u.s. wonder if its gun culture will change, perhaps reaching a balance of glamour and gore. chris, most agree a cultural change was needed. >> that was absolutely fascinating. thank you, richard. also making news this morning, the white house says it's possible that no american troops will remain in afghanistan by the end of the drawdown in 2014. however, the pentagon says some troops do need to stay to keep an eye on al qaeda. deputy secured advice ben rhodes said it's not tied to a specific number. and the administration is most likely looking at a range of options as fewer as 3,000, to as many as 15,000 remain behind. for the first time, we have new unsettling details about how the apartment of colorado shooting suspect james are holmes was rigged to explode. that testimony at the preliminary hearing is giving us

a clear preview of the case. both sides will present at trial. prosecutors are trying to show the depth of planning that went into the attack, while holmes' attorneys are hinting even more openly that they'll use an insanity defense. the wife of a chicago lottery winner says she has no idea who asked police to take another look at her husband's death. authorities announced yesterday they plan to exhume khan's body. khan died the day after his winnings were mailed in july. his wife says she can't believe her husband had enemies. after taking $100 billion in taxpayer money, aig is thinking about joining a lawsuit against the government. filing the claim, claiming the government short-changed stockholders when they took almost an 80% stake in the company. the suit is asking for $25 billion in damages.

aig's board of directors will meet to talk about that lawsuit today. an update on that developing story out of new york city. the coast guard is now on the scene of that ferry crash at the south side seaport. at least 57 people have been hurt. one person is in surgery with critical head injuries. the boat hit a loading barge before 9:00 a.m. this morning. the coast guard said it will do drug and alcohol testing on the captain although that is standard procedure. the ferry had about 443 people on board. it's oscar nomination season. we already have nominations for the worst movie of 2012 known as the razzies. here the nominees "that's my boy" starring adam sadler. eddie murray" a thousand words." and the oogieloves in the big.

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well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. ♪ children rejoice. a new policy statement from the american academy of pediatrics encourages schools not to get rid of recess. the group states recess offers children an opportunity to learn vital cognitive, physical and social skills many of which cannot be taught in the classroom. in addition, recess should not be a substitute for old-fashioned p.e. class. the flu outbreak is overwhelming. emergency rooms all around the country. take a look at what's going on in chicago. seven hospitals have closed their emergency department, diverting ambulances to other

facilities. in pennsylvania, triage tents have been set up in parking lots to deal with the onslaught of patients. they don't have enough room inside. and this flu has now spread, widespread to 41 states and it's happening a lot earlier. let me bring in dr. michael young for the centers for disease control and their influenza division. it's good to see you doctor. >> morning. >> do we know why the flu has hit so early this year? >> chris, you're right. there's lots of flu out there right now. lots of reasons why this may be happening. one of them is the virus, the flu virus is h3n 2 virus. this tick collar virus has been linked to pretty severe seasons in the past. we've seen this virus cause significant flu activity. >> the good news, as i

understand it, the vaccine is extremely well matched to this. so beyond getting the flu shot what else do we need to be doing to avoid getting the flu? >> absolutely. as you pointed out, vaccination is the best way to prevent getting influenza this year and every year. there are other things that people can do in addition to getting vaccinated to prevent them from getting the flu. one simply is to stay away from six people. try to maintain three to six feet from distance between people who are sick. >> try that on a new york city subway. good luck. >> exactly. >> another good reason to get the vaccine, right? >> absolutely. a great reason to get vaccinated. people can also turn to influenza, antiviral medicines if they do get the flu. it's a great line of defense to protect them from getting severe illness with influenza. >> i don't thing we're even at the halfway point with the traditional flu season. i guess another key question is, has it peaked?

is it going to get worse? do we have a clue? >> it's difficult to tell. flu seasons vary every year, but in the past, the season typically peaks sometimes sometime in february. late january or early february. we did have an early start this season. but we've only been elevated -- we've only seen elevated activity for about a month. and we usually see elevated activity for about three months so we may have some substantial levels of flu activity for quite a long time. >> we've showed a couple hospitals who are certainly overwhelmed. i guess two questions, are hospitals prepared to deal with this? and when do you know it's time to go to the hospital? because i'm presuming that they do get people who didn't need to come in. so when do you know your flu so bad you need to go to the hospital? >> well, typical symptoms of flu include fever, cough and sore throat. i would say if there's any question about how severe your illness is. call your doctor.

get an appointment with your doctor and let him or her make the decision whether or not you should go to the hospital. there are some people for whom this decision is very important. these people include very young children. people over the age of 65 and anyone with an underlying medical condition. these are people who are at increased risk for severe illness for flu. >> dr. michael jhung, it's good to have you on the program. thank you.

here's a proposition. make, sometimes, it's actually a good thing congress can't seem to get anything done. there are now more than 20 bills being considered by lawmakers that buzzbeat.com says will blow your mind or ridiculous. joining me is the website editor bennie johnson. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> one of the bills you mentioned is congressional payback to america. any money left in the

representational allowance at the end of the year would go towards debt reduction? >> i have to thank my editors at buzz feed for this great story line. it's just a few days old. this congress is just a few days old so here's the specifics of this particular bill. it says it's going to earmark the money that they don't use for their congressional expenditures. every congressman gets around $2 million a year to spend on their offices and their budgets. and right now, all that go to the treasury to do whatever it wants. so this bill earmarks all of what they're doingnd says now, this taxpayers dollars needs to be used toe pay down the deficit. and the treasury can't do anything else with so you're earmarking the already earmarked earmark money. >> that goes it out to constituents that they promised they had would reduce the deficit. i can't believe these aren't laws already. a bill that drug task force officers need to be screened for

drugs. and another that the government should be required to tell me if my food comes from land which contains sewage sludge? >> i just want to seat packaging on that kind of food. is it going to have a sewer grate on top of the chicken that you're buying? and some of these things seem so common sense. some of these things seem so nuanced. they're current bills being considered by committees in congress. any congressman can enlist any bill that he want at anytime they want which is why is he wii have freedom fries and freedom toast in the house cap tearia for three years. a lot of these things don't become laws but still considered by congress. >> two bills that involve cuba, we're talking baseball and cigars. >> yeah, we have a longstanding embargo with cuba. this started with the kennedy administration. >> yes. >> mind-blowing aspect of this bill it would essentially make

cuba open for business. that that would be changing a six-year policy. united states to have zero trade with cuba. it would really change the dynamics of the region. this would be very mind-blowing because we could all go to havana now. and if you're into mlb, there would be -- >> major league baseball for nonsports fans out there. >> -- into major league baseball. proposed by a yankees fan, jose serrano, a congressman here in new york, that says it's going to make the limitations less to bring in mlb players from cuba. so right now, if you're a good baseball player in cuba, you have to defect and move to another country before the mlb will consider you. and the department of treasury, back to the department of treasury has to approve of you coming to the mlb, even if you're a cuban. >> and finally, there's this bill being proposed that would stop the treasury from actually making a trillion-dollar

platinum coin to pay its bills. and it would be something that, even economist paul krugman and other people have signed. there's a petition with more than 6,000 signatures. i want to play for you some reaction to this idea. >> this whole coin business doesn't deal with the debt and deficit issue and it does not make it go away. >> basically, you would need a solid platinum 747 aircraft to have $1 trillion worth of platinum. >> so what are the chances this is going to pass? >> i don't know. i'm not sure which president is going to get his face on the trillion-dollar aircraft plane. >> last night, it was suggested justin bieber as a possible face. i don't know why. >> it just shows you where congress is going right now. they're having to take some drastic measures. this is certainly one of the most drastic. it's being proposed by greg walden, a republican who

obviously thinks it's a bad idea. there's plenty of humerus bills in congress. i'm sure they'll keep us entertained. >> ben e. johnson from buzz feed. thank you very much. thomas roberts is up next. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated. it's not real. geico's customer satisfaction is quite real though. this computer-animated coffee tastes dreadful. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 % or more on car insurance. someone get me a latte will ya, please?

and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early,